


Leaders Get Scared Too

by lloydiebug



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Gen, JAY IS A GOOD BIG BROTHER DONT @ ME, Lloyd is a smol boy...., Season 11, based off like...the first episode of the ice chapter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-17
Updated: 2019-08-17
Packaged: 2020-09-06 05:40:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20286295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lloydiebug/pseuds/lloydiebug
Summary: Different realms are scary.Especially when you cant find your friend even after almost being mauled to death multiple times.





	Leaders Get Scared Too

The mysterious Never-Realm wasn’t exactly a walk in the park. Not like that's what they expected anyway. But they didn’t expect a full set of jaws at every turn. The group came to the collective decision to hunker down for the night when they came across a jagged looking cave that had been abandoned by the looks of it, the only thing being left behind being a few bones that'd been long chewed clean. Of course it only provided so much heat for the team but it was still better than sleeping in the snow to wait for the inevitable claws of death to take hold.   
Jay didn’t know what time he woke up (there wasn’t exactly a sun to tell the difference between night and day), but safely assumed it was pretty late seeing that everyone was fast asleep. He wiped some drool off the side of his lip and took a look around, pivoting his head. Jay was squashed against Cole’s surprisingly soft chest with the addition of Kai being looped around his legs in a tight koala-esque grip. Nya wasn’t too far away - she was sleeping with her back to Kai, curled up on herself in a futile attempt to create more heat for freezing frame. That’s when Jay came to the realization that they were missing someone.   
That someone was Lloyd.   
Before he could panic however, he turned to look out of the mouth of the cave to find said ninja of energy standing outside. His back was to the cave and some loose bits of his GI were fluttering in the harsh wind. By the way his shoulders were raised and his arms were wrapped around himself, Jay assumed that Lloyd was freezing. With a few grunts, he began to wiggle out of the pile of warm bodies. He was sad to feel the only warmth slip between his fingers but it was only replaced by the feeling of anxiety. Jay got up silently once he got his ankles released by the red cuddle monster, brushing himself off from the cave debris. Like stepping over landmines, he carefully stepped over his team to get to the line where the cave and snow met. He wrapped his arms around his own body as he walked out into the unforgiving weather, worriedly locking onto Lloyd.   
“Lloyd?”   
The blonde’s back straightened. Jay was just realizing now how bad Lloyd looked. The poor kid was overall pale and was shaking like a leaf. Jay was puzzled. He walked up to Lloyd’s side and sneaked his arm around Lloyd’s shoulders. Lloyd bit his lip and looked away, once bright green eyes now dull and murky. The electric master quickly noticed how puffy his eyes looked as well - like he’d been crying.   
“What are you doing out here bud?” Quietly asked Jay, bringing Lloyd close to his own side. Lloyd didn’t fight it but chose to ignore Jay entirely as his bottom lip began to quiver.   
“Are you upset?”   
A silence swept between them. Then it was broken by an equally broken sob. Lloyd nodded quickly. Jay felt like someone punched his heart in once he saw the first fresh tear fall from Lloyd’s cheek.   
“Why? Is it about Zane? If it is-”   
Lloyd shook his head. He hiccuped and turned over to Jay, locking eye contact.   
Then came the small voice that once held so much power and demand as the legendary green ninja, “‘M sc-cared…”   
That’s when Jay remembered.   
Of course, Lloyd had a powerful position in the world. He was the protector of all that was right and leader crafted through blood and tears.   
But he was also a boy.   
A boy who lived in fear. A boy that had to put on a mask everyday to hide the fact that he couldn’t handle the weight of all of the realms on his shoulders.   
He was really... _ just a kid _ .   
Jay sighed heavily, pulling Lloyd into a tight hug. He wasn’t surprised to feel hands grip at the back of his GI. They held on tight and even pulled at the fabric. Heart Wrenching sobs wracked Lloyd’s body as he cried buckets into Jay’s chest, nearly at the point of screaming out nonsense. Jay let out a few soft noises to comfort him, something his Mom did when he was younger, making small circles on Lloyd’s thin back. A few crunches of snow quickly grabbed his attention, looking up at the cave to see if he could spot any possible intruders. He only saw the ninja team, all awake, and all clearly concerned. Kai was the one to step out into the cold, a hand reached out to the two in the distance. Nya was close behind him, hands resting on Kai’s shoulders just in case she had to step in to make sure he didn’t do anything stupid. Cole was just waking up but looked just as worried as the other two.   
Jay’s chin fell into Lloyd’s frosty blonde locks, slipping another ‘shh’ through his lips as he made his hold on him tighter.   
“Hey, hey, buddy, can you look at me super quick?” Jay put on a small smile. Lloyd sniffed hard, but moved his head so he could just barely see Jay’s face looking down at him.   
“There he is!” Jay laughed quietly. He couldn’t see it, but Jay knew that Lloyd was smiling at least a little bit.   
“We need to get you inside. We’ll keep you safe, don’t worry.”   
\- - -   
It took a few minutes to get Lloyd inside but once they did it made a whole lot of difference. Lloyd’s shivering was less severe and the color was starting to flush back into his face. He did look awfully tired though. Lloyd was propped up against the wall with Cole on one side and Kai on the other. Jay and Nya sat down in front of him, Jay’s hands securely wrapped around Lloyd’s.   
“You know you could’ve froze out there, yeah?”   
Lloyd sniffed and nodded his head.   
“Were you  _ trying  _ to make yourself into a lime popsicle?”   
Of course Cole had a chuckle at that but Lloyd didn’t find it as humorous. He shook his head again, a broken breath coming out of him.   
“I...I was out-t there...because I was trying to-o think…” Lloyd tried to explain himself, “Whenever it g-gets too much I...I usually go outsid-e...a...and think…”   
“Like a coping mechanism, right?” Nya patted Lloyd’s knee with the saddest smile he’s seen in a while. Lloyd felt the tears start to build up behind his eyes. He nodded quickly.   
“You could’ve just woken one of us up, pipsqueak.” brought up Kai.   
“Didn’t want to bo-ther any of you…” Lloyd’s small voice made a return, his head dropping into his knees.   
“But you can wake me up at twelve in the morning to borrow one of my games?” Cole laughed, giving Lloyd a soft noogie that brought out a smile in him. The rest of them had a shared laugh as well, the mood shifting to be just a little bit brighter.   
“S-orry about that.” Lloyd giggled, using his sleeve to dry off any remaining tears that cooped up in the corner of his eyes. Finally able to breathe warmer air, he sighed and let his body relax, letting tension he didn’t know he carried be swept away. He was content to know he was surrounded by people who really did care about him. For the first time in the Never-Realm, he felt safe and protected.


End file.
